Number: 

DAO 202-334

SECTION 1. PURPOSE.

.0l This order furnishes guidance concerning requirements, policies, and procedures applicable to details of personnel within, to, and from the Department of Commerce.

.02 This revision of the order is issued to incorporate certain changes recently established by law, to make available miscellaneous interpretations of requirements applicable to particular situations, to incorporate outstanding amendments, and to update references.

.03 This order supplements, but is not a substitute for, chapter 300, subchapter 8, of the Federal Personnel Manual, relating to intra-Departmental details, and chapter 352, subchapter 3, of the Federal Personnel Manual, relating to detail and transfer of Federal employees to international organizations.

SECTION 2. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

.0l Definition.

a. For purposes of this order, a "detail" is a temporary assignment of an employee, without an official personnel action to change his position assignment of record, to perform duties other than those of the position he holds under his current appointment. The duties to be performed on detail may or may not be duties described in a formally established position.

b. The term detail" is to be distinguished from the following:

(l) Temporary duty, which means the performance of duty by an employee in a travel status when such duty is related to his regular position;

(2) Assignment to perform one or more of the regular duties of the position to which the employee is appointed, in a location away from the employee's regular place of work; and

(3) Assignment of an employee to participate in a training course or developmental assignment directly related to the duties of his current official position.

.02 Applicability. Provisions of this order applicable to an individual operating unit shall also be applicable, to the same extent and in the same manner, to the Office of the Secretary as if it were an operating unit. The authority which under this order is to be exercised by the heads of operating units or their designees may be exercised in the Office of the Secretary by the several Secretarial Officers or their designees with respect to employees and duties under their jurisdiction.

.03 Basic Principles.

a. In general, an employee may be detailed to duties other than the duties of the position to which he is appointed (i.e., which he holds under an official, recorded personnel action) only when there is special statutory authority for such a detail. (Special statutory authority exists for various types of details, such as intra-Departmental details, details to the White House Office, reimbursable details between executive departments and agencies, details to international organizations, and details to foreign governments. For further information, see sections 3 through 8 of this order.)

b. Notwithstanding the existence of statutory authority for details, details are subject to various limitations imposed by other statutes, regulations issued pursuant to statute, or Departmental policy. (See paragraph .05 of this section and sections of this order dealing with individual categories of details.)

.04 Proper Use of Details. The following purposes and circumstances among others may warrant the use of details when details are authorized by law, subject to applicable limitations cited in this order.

a. Details may be used to meet manpower emergencies occasioned by abnormal workload, change in mission or organization, or unanticipated absences.

b. Details may be used pending description and classification of a new position. When a new position is being created, or when a reorganization or realignment of duties makes it necessary temporarily to assign an employee to other duties and responsibilities, he will be considered to be on detail from the last position to which he was formally assigned until the new duties and responsibilities have crystallized. (24 Comp. Gen. 816.)

c. Details may be used pending legal qualification for higher grade duties. If an employee's existing position is allocated to a higher grade and the employee does not meet the applicable qualification standards or time in grade requirements, he may continue in status quo and on detail until he meets the eligibility requirements for promotion. (34 Camp. Gen. 179.)

d. Details may be used pending, or in lieu of, an official reassignment or promotion except as otherwise required by the Civil Service Commission ( see FPM, chapter 335, sections 4-1 and 4-4). For example, details may be made for brief periods to give effect promptly to a reorganization consistent with the retention preference rights of all employees concerned; to give an employee a trial period before permanent reassignment or promotion; to decide among candidates for permanent promotion; to train an employee in higher grade duties; to perform the duties of a position during absence of the incumbent; to fill a vacant position until a permanent appointment is made; to assume responsibility for a temporary increase in workload; or to participate in a special project of brief duration. (See paragraph 3.02 of this order.) In some instances, a temporary promotion may be considered as an alternative to a detail.

e. Details may be used for training or developmental purposes, particularly where such training is part of established promotional or developmental programs. (See paragraph 3.02 of this order.)

f. Details may be used pending completion of an investigation. Where desirable, an employee may be detailed to other duties pending completion of an investigation, e.g., of his conduct or character or his performance of duty.

g. Details may be used pending a determination on eligibility for security clearance.

l. If an employee is appointed to a sensitive position under certain provisions of DAO 207-4, or is required by civil service retention preference regulations (see FPM chapter 351, section 7-6d) to be reassigned to a sensitive position, but lacks proper security clearance, he may be detailed to non-sensitive duties pending a determination on his eligibility for a security clearance.

2. If an employee is disqualified from performing the duties of his regular position, for example, by not having a current security clearance for his position, he may be detailed to other duties pending disposition of his case, i.e., removal of the disqualification or other appropriate action.

h. Details may be used pending a change in employment status. Where desirable, an employee may be detailed to other duties pending consideration or completion of a change in his employment status, e.g., before and during a period of advance notice of a proposed adverse action.

i. An employee may be directed, for brief periods as operating requirements and general administrative efficiency necessitate, to do work different from the work he ordinarily performs or duties different from those set forth in the official position description of his position. His consent is not a prerequisite to such assignments, which are subject to the needs of the service. All employees are expected to cooperate with respect to such temporary assignments.

.05 General Limitations of the Use of Details.

a. Details to a Commission, Council, Board of Other Similar Body. No employee may be detailed to any commission, council, board, or other similar body unless the creation of such commission, council, board, or body has been authorized by law. (Section 9, Act of March 4, 1909, 35 Stat. 1027, 31 U.S.C. 673. See 31 U.S.C. 691 for authorization of certain interagency details.) For example, employees of the Department may not be detailed to an Inaugural Committee. An Inaugural Committee is not a Federal agency; although recognized in 36 U.S.C. 721, such a committee is not a body the creation of which has been authorized by law.

b. Details of Excepted Employees. No person who is serving under an excepted appointment may be assigned to the work of a position in the competitive service without prior approval of the Civil Service Commission. (Civil Service Rule 6.5.)

c. Employment Relation to Appropriation.

1. An individual may be employed in the civil service in an executive department at the seat of Government only for services actually rendered in connection with and for the purposes of' the appropriation from which he is paid. (5 U.S.C. 3103.) A violation of this limitation requires removal from the service (5 U.S.C. 3103) and anyone convicted of such a violation is subject to a fine of $1,000 or imprisonment for one year (18 U.S.C. 1916).

2. The restriction in this subparagraph .05c. is not considered applicable to details within an executive department. (See 2 Comp. Dec. 15; 8 id. 776.)

d. Application of Moneys Appropriated.

1. Except as otherwise provided by law, sums appropriated for the various branches of expenditure in the public service shall be applied solely to the objects for which they are respectively made, and for no others. (Section 3678, Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 628).)

2. In addition, with respect to details to congressional committees or to offices of Members of Congress, consideration must be given to the fact that the Congress has separated the legislative from the executive appropriations, and this is considered generally to forbid the use of the appropriations for one branch for the expenses of the other, except where the intent to so use the appropr1ation specifically appears. (See 4 Comp. Dec. 287; 9 id. 95; 23 id. 493; 4 Comp. Gen. 848; 6 id. 836; 21 id. 954, 956.)

e. Augmentation of Appropriations. Except as otherwise provided by law, the amount which Congress appropriates for a particular purpose or program constitutes a limitation upon the amount of funds available for that purpose or program. Employees may not be detailed so as, in effect, to augment an appropriation and thus tend to nullify the limitation.

f. Details to Supergrade Positions or Equivalent. Special procedures have been established in the executive branch to assure the selection of the best qualified individuals available for positions in grade GS-16, or equivalent, and higher. In order to facilitate the effectuation of this policy, no detail may be made to any such position except with the prior approval of the Assistant Secretary for Administration.

g. Assignment of Detail of Members of the Armed Forces to Civilian Office of Position.

1. Except as otherwise provided by law, an officer on the active list of the Regular Army, Regular Navy, Regular Air Force, Regular Marine Corps, or Regular Coast Guard vacates his military appointment as such if he holds or exercises the functions of any civil office. (l0 U.S.C. 973(b). See 27 Comp. Gen. 5l0, 33 id. 368, 37 id. 255, and 46 id. 400.)

2. Upon the request of the Secretary of Commerce, however, the Secretary of a military department may assign or detail members of the armed forces under his jurisdiction for duty in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce. See 10 U.S.C. 719. In addition, officers, not exceeding five in number at any one time, of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, may be detailed to the Secretary of Commerce for the performance of functions under or related to the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, as amended. See 53 Stat. 1l82 {46 U.S.C. llll(f)).

.06 Department Roster of Details. In order to make possible proper coordination by the Assistant Secretary for Administration of the detailing of employees to other Federal agencies, from other Federal agencies, between operating units, and between operating units and Secretarial and Departmental offices, the Director of Personnel shall establish and maintain a Department Roster of Details. Secretarial officers and heads of operating units and Departmental offices shall report from time to time, in such form as the Director of Personnel may prescribe , additions, deletions, or changes in the Roster with regard to their respective organizations.

.07 Secretary's Annual Review of Non-reimbursable Details. The Assistant Secretary for Administration will submit a report, as of January 1 of each year, to the Secretary, listing and justifying non-reimb1lrsable details of employees to other than Commerce offices, between operating units, and between operating units and Secretarial and Departmental offices. The Director of Personnel shall prepare the report on the basis of reports submitted by Secretarial Officers, heads of Departmental offices, and heads of operating units. The Secretary will indicate action to be taken on such details.

SECTION 3. DETAILS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.

.01 Authority. The head of an executive department or military department may detail employees among the bureaus and offices of his department, except employees who are required by law to be exclusively engaged on some specific work. Details under this authority may be made only by written order of the head of the department, and they may not be ordered for more than l20 days. These details may be renewed by written order of the head of department, in each particular case, for periods not exceeding l20 days. (5 U.S.C. 3341. This authority, in the Department of Commerce, is delegated to appointing officers (see Department Administrative Order 202-250); and it is further subject to limitations established by the Civil Service Commission (see paragraph .02 of this section).)

.02 Limitations.

a. Except for an emergency detail of 30 days or less, an employee may not be detailed from his regular duties for at least three months after his appointment on a competitive basis from a civil service register. (FPM, chapter 300, subchapter 8.)

b. Details are limited to l20 days, and may not be renewed unless prior approval of the Civil Service Commission is obtained (for employees subject to its jurisdiction), except that prior approval of the Commission is not required for renewal of a detail beyond l20 days to a position which is either (1) an identical additional position to the employee's regular position or (2) a position of the same grade, series code, and basic duties as the employee's regular position. The Civil Service Commission prohibits any detail beyond 240 calendar days to a higher grade position subject to its jurisdiction. (See FPM chapter 300, subchapter 8.)

c. Selection for a detail of more than 60 days in the competitive service to a higher grade position or to a position with known promotion potential, or for a detail in the competitive service for training which is primarily to prepare an employee for advancement and which is required for promotion, is subject to competitive promotion procedures. (FPM chapter 335, section 4-1.)

d. In addition, an employee may not be detailed in the competitive service to a higher grade position or to a position with known promotion potential after he has completed more than 60 days of service in any year of service under detail or temporary promotion, or a combination of detail and temporary promotion, to higher grade positions or to positions with known promotion potential unless he is selected for the current detail under competitive promotion procedures. (FPM chapter 335, section 4-1.)

.03 Agency Responsibilities. In addition to enforcing the limitations in paragraph .02 of this section, agencies are responsible, by Civil Service Commission instruction (FPM chapter 300, subchapter 8), for the following:

a. Keeping details within the shortest practicable time limits, and making a continuing effort to obtain necessary services through use of appropriate personnel actions;

b. Advising supervisors of the conditions under which details may properly be made; and

c. Recording details in excess of 30 days on Standard Form 52, or other standard form approved by the office of Personnel, and maintaining such form as a permanent record in the Official Personnel Folders, except for a detail of career or career-conditional employee who is assigned to perform duties of an identical-additional position or a position of the same grade, occupational series code, and basic duties as the position to which he is regularly assigned.

.04 Departmental Policy and Procedure.

a. Details Within the Same Operating Unit.

l. Approval.

(a) Details for not in excess of 30 calendar days may be approved in accordance with the provisions of this order by managerial employees and supervisory employees designated by the head of the operating unit concerned.

(b) Details in excess of 30 calendar days (including such details to an identical-additional position or to a position with the same grade, occupational series code, and basic duties as the position from which detailed) shall be approved in accordance with the provisions of this order by an appointing officer designated in DAO 202-250 or equivalent authorization.

2. Documentation.

(a) No documentation for personnel record purposes is required where the period of detail does not exceed 30 calendar days.

(b) Where the period of detail is expected to or does exceed 30 calendar days, the managerial or supervisory official concerned shall prepare Standard Form 52, "Request for Personnel Action," and submit it to the appropriate personnel officer for approval, for proper personnel action (e.g., recruitment, promotion, reassignment, demotion, or separation), and for inclusion in the employee's Official Personnel Folder, either as a permanent record (when required under subparagraph .03c. of this section) or as a temporary record.

b. Details Between Operating Units.

l. Approval. Details in accordance with the provisions of this order may be arranged by mutual agreement of the operating units concerned. All negotiations for details shall be handled by or with the approval of appointing officers of the operating units concerned. All details shall be requested and approved in writing.

2. Administrative Arrangements.

(a) The employee detailed will continue to be carried on the employment rolls and the payroll of the operating unit from which he is detailed.

(b) The operating unit to which the employee is detailed shall keep the time and attendance report for the employee and submit it regularly and promptly to the detailing office.

(c) Where the detail is made n a reimbursable basis, the personnel office of the detailing operating unit shall promptly notify the payroll unit of that operating unit in order that it may bill the operating unit to which the detail is made.

(d) If the period of detail is expected (either at the outset or at any subsequent time) to exceed 120 days, the personnel office of the operating unit to which the employee is detailed shall be responsible for obtaining prior approval of the Civil Service Commission (see subparagraph .02b. of this section). Any such request shall be cleared in advance with the personnel officer of the detailing operating unit, and the signed original of the Commission's approval, if granted, shall be forwarded to the personnel officer of the detailing unit for inclusion in the employee's Official Personnel Folder as a temporary record.

3. Documentation.

(a) Each approved request shall set forth the following information:

(1) Employee's name, title, grade, occupational series code, and salary;

(2) The operating unit in which the employee is employed;

(3) The need for the detail and nature of the work to be .performed (including organizational and geographic location);

(4) The beginning and ending date of detail;

(5) The office to which time and attendance reports shall be submitted; and

(6) Whether the detail is reimbursable or non-reimbursable.

(b) One copy of each approved request for detail shall be filed in the employee's Official Personnel Folder, and one copy shall be forwarded to the Office of Personnel. When the detail is reimbursable, copies shall also be furnished to the payroll units of the operating units concerned.

SECTION 4. DETAILS TO THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE.

.01 Authority. Employees of the executive departments and independent establishments of the executive branch of the Government may be detailed from time to time to the White House Office for temporary assistance. (Act of June 25, 1948, 62 Stat. 679 (3 U.S.C. 107).)

.02 Policy.

a. It is the policy of the Department to cooperate as fully as practicable in detailing employees to the White House Office for temporary assistance, upon receipt of an authorized request.

b. In order to assure that requests for temporary assistance in the White House Office are authorized requests and that their impact is distributed as equitably as practicable among all Government agencies in the Washington metropolitan area, the President has arranged for all authorized requests from the White House Office to be made to the Civil Service Commission. The Civil Service Commission will then request individual agencies, through their respective Directors of Personnel, to fulfill specific requests.

c. Requests received from the Civil Service Commission for detail to the White House Office shall be deemed authorized requests and may be approved by the Director of Personnel or his designee. (The Office of Personnel or his designee. (The Office of Personnel will undertake to distribute the burden of filling requests equitably among the several operating units of the Department.)

d. All other requests from the White House staff or from persons purporting to speak for a member of the White House staff, for detail of employees shall be referred to the Assistant Secretary for Administration for consideration and review with the Secretary, as appropriate. Any request from the Civil Service Commission, other than to the Office of Personnel, for detail of employees to the White House Office, shall be referred to the Director of Personnel without making a commitment or giving encouragement of any kind, in order to permit allocation of all requests to the several operating units on an equitable basis.

e. Maximum effort shall be made in filling approved requests for detail to the White House Office to select only well-qualified, conscientious employees who are best suited to fill the specific requirements set forth in the requests. They should personally be the type of employee whom the Secretary would be willing to have assigned to his own immediate office.

SECTION 5. DETAILS BETWEEN EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT AND AGENCIES.

.01 Authority.

a. Except as otherwise provided by law (e.g., Public Law 91-181, approved December 30, 1969, authorizing details to the Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for Spanish-Speaking people), the head of an executive department is without authority to detail an employee of his department for service outside of the department in which he is employed. (13 Comp. Dec. 485; 13 id. 846; 24 id. 10.)

b. Section 601 of the Economy Act of June 30, 1932,47 Stat. 417, as amended (31 U.S.C. 686), authorizes the detail of an employee by one department or agency to another on a reimbursable basis. (13 Comp. Gen. 234; 15 id. 32; 24 id. 420; 41 id. 478, 482.) Reimbursement may be for all or part of the costs of the detail as provided in an advance written order or agreement for the services. (13 Comp. Gen.234.) In the absence of an advance written order or agreement providing for the furnishing of inter-agency personal services, or unless such order or agreement provides for reimbursement, a loan or detail of employees between departments and agencies will be considered as an accommodation for which no reimbursement for salaries will be made. (13 Comp. Gen. 234; 15 id. 32.)

c. Section ll05(a) of Title 5, United States Code, provides in part as follows: "The Civil Service Commission shall, in the District of Columbia, and in one or more places in each State and territory or possession of the United States where examinations are to be held, designate at least three individuals in the service of the United States, residing in the State or territory or possession, to be members of Civil Service Commission boards of examiners. The Commission shall consult the head of the agency in which the individuals are serving before designating them as members of a board of examiners..."

1. Details of employees of executive departments to be members of boards of examiners are authorized under section ll05(a), but details (non-reimbursable) for the general service or purpose of the Commission or for any other service than as members of boards of examiners are not authorized. (25 Op. Att. Gen.379.)

2. Where authority exists for detail of an employee to another agency, the employment of an additional employee by one agency for the sole purpose of having him detailed to the second agency is not authorized (10 Comp. Dec. 814; 25 id. 935), and the transfer of an employee to an executive department or agency for the purpose of having him detailed to the Commission but paid from an unrelated appropriation (river and harbor appropriation) is likewise not authorized (26 Comp. Dec. 214).

.02 Limitations.

a. In the absence of special authority, section 3678, Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 628; see subparagraph 2.05e. of this order) requires that non-reimbursable details between Federal agencies be limited to:

(1) Brief periods (e.g., "a few days or perhaps a week or so");

(2) Employees who are already on the rolls (as distinguished from employees appointed for the purpose of detailing to another agency) and who are not required by law to be engaged exclusively on the work for which they were appointed; and

(3) Circumstances where the services of the detailed employee can be spared "for a few days or perhaps a week or so" without detriment to the work of the agency and without necessitating the employment of an additional employee. (See 21 Comp. Gen. 954 and 21 id. 1055, for statement of the requirements of section 3678, Revised Statutes, in the absence of special statutory authority in analogous circumstances.)

b. All proposed non-reimbursable details between agencies in the executive branch must be approved in advance by the Office of Management and Budget except as indicated in subparagraph .02b.2. of this section. (Director, Bureau of the Budget memorandum for the heads of departments and agencies, dated October 4, 1965.)

1. Requests for approval shall be submitted by the agency paying the employee and shall be accompanied by a brief explanatory memorandum. Requests for Department of Commerce employees shall be submitted to the Director of Personnel.

2. The requirements of subparagraph .02b. of this section do not apply to details:

(a) where agencies are jointly engaged in an activity (including ad hoc task forces) of direct concern to the missions of each of them;

(b) when authorized interagency exchanges of career employees for training or

(c) where emergency circumstances (such as a natural disaster) require inter- agency pooling of employees; or

(d) where specialized consultation or the expertise of individual employees is furnished on a short-term basis, not to exceed thirty days.

.03 Policy.

a. Details to other executive departments and agencies shall be considered on the basis of the ability of the operating unit concerned to spare the employee's services, without detriment to the work of the operating unit and without the necessity of employing an additional employee; the importance of the proposed assignment; and the official interest of the Department of Commerce in the proposed assignment.

b. Details to the Department of Commerce from another executive department or agency shall be requested only when a fully qualified employee is not available within the Department of Commerce to perform the work involved, and when it is not feasible to employ a qualified person temporarily or special circumstances necessitate a detail pending the completion of other appropriate personnel action.

.04 Procedure.

a. Reimbursable Details.

1. Reimbursement Agreement. In effecting reimbursable details to or from another executive department or agency, a written agreement including the following information should be prepared in advance of the beginning date of the detail:

(a) Employee's name, title, grade, and salary;

(b) Operating unit in which employee is currently employed;

(c) Need for detail and nature of work to be performed;

(d) Beginning and ending date of detail;

(e) Statement that time and attendance reports will be submitted regularly to the detailing office;

(f) Address to which salary checks are to be sent; and

(g) Statement, signed by an authorized official of the requesting office, that the detailing office will be reimbursed for the period of the detail.

2. Approval. Reimbursement agreements may be negotiated on behalf of the Department by the heads of operating units or their designees. A copy of each such agreement shall be sent to the Office of Personnel for information.

3. Reimbursement. The salary of an employee temporarily detailed between executive departments and agencies on a reimbursable basis is payable from the appropriation of the agency in which the employee is regularly employed. The appropriation will be reimbursed for the entire period of the detail, based upon the gross salary rate of the employee detailed. The value of credit for leave with pay accrued but not taken by the employee while so detailed may also be included as an item of cost. (17 Comp. Gen. 571.). Any extra expense of such detail (such as travel or subsistence) is payable from the appropriation of the agency to which the employee is detailed. (5 Comp. Gen. 319.)

b. Non-reimbursable Details.

1. All non-reimbursable details between the Department of Commerce and other executive departments and agencies, regardless of statutory authority or duration, require the prior approval of the Office of Management and Budget except in the special circumstances set forth in subparagraph .02b.2. of this section. Any detail to or from the Department which requires prior approval of the Office of Management and Budget shall be submitted to the Office of Personnel for prior approval.

2. Non-reimbursable details of the types specified in subparagraph .02b.2. of this section which do not require prior approval of the Office of Management and Budget, may be negotiated and approved by an authorized appointing officer for the operating unit concerned.

3. The employee detailed will continue to be paid by the detailing office, although any authorized expense for official travel will be charged to the agency to which the employee is detailed.

SECTION 6. DETAILS TO CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.

.01 Authority.

a. In view of section 3678, Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 628), an executive agency of the Government, in the absence of specific statutory authority therefor (as distinguished from authority of a Senate or House resolution, which does not have the force and effect of a statute), may not lend or detail an employee to a congressional committee except when one of the following requirements is met:

1. When the work of the committee actually aids the agency in the accomplishment of a purpose for which its appropriations are made such as by obviating the necessity for the performance by the agency of the same or similar work (It is not enough that there may be a mutuality of interest between the work of the congressional committee and the work of the executive agency, or that the knowledge or information gained by a congressional committee may be of interest or even helpful to the executive agency. The work of the congressional committee must involve work to be performed by the loaned or detailed employee which will relieve the executive agency of the necessity for performance of work for the accomplishment of which the agency's appropriations are made.); or

2. When the services of an employee who is already on the rolls of the agency may be spared for brief periods, such as a few days or a week or so, without detriment to the work of the agency and without necessitating the hiring of additional employees. (21 Comp. Gen. 954; 21 id. 1055.)

b. In the absence of specific statutory authority therefor, appropriated funds of an executive agency may not be used to pay the salary of a newly appointed employee loaned or detailed to a congressional committee, where the employee was not needed for any work required to be performed by the agency but was appointed to fill an existing vacancy solely for the purpose of being assigned to the committee for an extended period. (2l Comp. Gen. l055.)

.02 Procedure. All requests for loan or detail of an employee to a congressional committee shall be referred immediately, without encouragement of any kind, to the Director of Personnel. All loans or details of an employee to a congressional committee, whether on a reimbursable or a non-reimbursable basis, shall be approved in advance by the Office of Personnel.

SECTION 7. DETAILS TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.

.01 Authority.

a. Federal Employees' International Organization Services Law.

1. The head of a Federal agency is authorized to detail an employee to a public international organization for a period not to exceed five years. Under special circumstances, where the President determines it to be in the national interest, he may extend the five-year period for up to an additional three years. (5 U.S.C. 3343(b).)

2. An employee so detailed shall be considered for the purpose of preserving his allowances, privileges, rights, seniority, and other benefits, to be an employee of the Federal agency from which he is detailed. He will continue to receive pay, allowances, and benefits from funds available to that agency, and such authorization will be considered as meeting all requirements of 5 U.S.C. 5536 relating to receipt of extra allowances. (5.U.S.C. 3343(c).)

3. Details may be made (a) without reimbursement by the international organization or (b) with agreement for reimbursement. When reimbursement is made, such reimbursement is for credit to the appropriation, fund, or account used for paying the amounts reimbursed. (5 U.S.C. 3343(d))

4. Supplementary regulations are set forth in Civil Service Regulations 352.301-352.313.

b. Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

1. Whenever the Secretary of State, under delegated authority from the President, determines it to be consistent with and in furtherance of the purposes of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the head of any agency of the United States Government is authorized to detail, assign, or otherwise make available to any international organization, any officer or employee of his agency to serve with, or as a member of, the international staff of such organization, or to render any technical, scientific, or professional advice or service to, or in cooperation with, such organization. (Section 628, Act of September 4, 1961, 75 Stat. 452 (22 U.S.C. 2388).)

2. Generally similar provisions to those cited in subparagraphs .0la.2. and .0la.3. of this section with respect to status of personnel detailed and arrangements for financing are set forth in 22 U.S.C. 2389-2390. In addition, provision is made under 22 U.S.C. 2389(b) for representation allowances under such regulations as the President may prescribe.

.02 Policy.

a. All details, assignments, and similar arrangements to public international organizations or to international organization preparatory commissions shall be approved in advance by the Office of Personnel.

b. Details under this section shall ordinarily be approved only when:

l. The total period of absence on detail is not expected to exceed one year; and

2. A detail, rather than transfer with reemployment rights, is deemed to be in the interests of the United States.

SECTION 8. DETAILS TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.

.0l Authority.

a. United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948.

l. The Secretary of State is authorized to assign or authorize assignment of persons of special scientific or other technical or professional qualifications to governments of other countries when (a) assignment is necessary in the national interest of the United States or (b) the foreign government agrees to reimburse the United States in an amount equal to the pay, travel expenses, and allowances payable to the person assigned. (Section 30l, Act of January 27, 1948, 62 Stat. 7 (22 U.S.C. l45l).)

2. A person so assigned shall be considered an officer or employee of the Government of the United States and of the Government agency from which assigned and shall continue to receive pay from that agency. Employees may also receive representation allowances. (22 U.S.C. l452.)

3. A person so assigned may, at the discretion of the Department of Commerce , with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, and without additional compensation therefor, accept an office under the government to which he is assigned provided such acceptance shall not involve the taking of an oath of allegiance to another government. (22 U.S.C. 1453.)

b. Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

l. Whenever the Secretary of State, under delegated authority from the President, determines it to be in furtherance of the purposes of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, the head of any agency of the United States Government is authorized to detail or assign any officer or employee to any office or position with any foreign government or foreign government agency, where acceptance of such office or position does not involve the taking of an oath of allegiance to another government or the acceptance of compensation or other benefits from any foreign country by such officer or employee. (Section 627, Act of September 4, 1961, 75 Stat. 452 (22 U.S.C. 2387).)

2. Generally similar provisions to those in subparagraphs .0la.2. and .0la.3. of this section with respect to the status of personnel detailed, representation allowances, and financial arrangements are set forth in 22 U.S. C. 2389-2390.

.02 Policy.

a. Each request for detail to a foreign government or for authority to accept an office under a foreign government shall be referred immediately, with the full facts concerning the case, and without encouragement of any kind, to the Office of Personnel for prior approval.

b. Details to foreign governments shall ordinarily be approved only where it appears to be clearly in the interests of the United States Government to cooperate with the foreign government in the manner requested.

SECTION 9. QUESTIONS AND EXCEPTIONS.

Within the limits of administrative discretion permitted to the Department, exceptions to the provisions of this order may be granted from time to time by the Office of Personnel whenever the facts indicate that such exception will promote the efficiency of the service or otherwise be in the interests of the United States. Each request for an exception shall be submitted in writing and shall contain a full statement of justification for the exception.

SECTION 10. EFFECT ON OTHER ORDERS.

This order supersedes Department Administrative Order 202-334, dated March 1, 1967, as amended. Signed by: Director of Personnel

Approved by: Assistant Secretary for Administration